Nokia opens fourth Open Innovation Challenge

Open Innovation Challenge 2016 to develop the Internet of Things for connected automotive, digital health and more

Nokia has launched its Open Innovation Challenge for the fourth year running, focusing now on the Internet of Things (IoT) for public safety, connected automotive, industry 4.0, digital health, utilities, security and smart cities. The challenge is being organised in partnership with private venture firm Nokia Growth Partners, which this year announced a $350 million fund for investments in IoT companies.

In the coming years, IoT will bring novel ways to simplify people’s lives, make industries more efficient and bring new business opportunities for operators and enterprises. Bell Labs Consulting recently predicted that the number of IoT connected devices is expected to top 46 billion by 2020. All these connected devices will drive diverse IoT use cases including smart cities that will be more sustainable; smarter and faster healthcare and public safety applications that will save lives; and more responsive and intuitive smart grid networks.

The Nokia Open Innovation Challenge 2016 is a call for the next big ideas and new business models for these exciting IoT domains. During the challenge, entries will be assessed by Nokia and industry experts for their innovation, impact and business potential. The winners will be able to join Nokia’s Innovation Accelerator Program to incubate their ideas within Nokia, access Nokia’s global market and network with investors. In addition, the top three teams will share incubation prize money of up to Euro 100,000.

Submissions are being accepted between 6 June and 15 August, after which they will be assessed and the top fifteen teams will be invited to a two day concept development workshop with Nokia experts in Paris in October. The final judging and the awards ceremony will be held right after the workshop.

The Nokia Open Innovation Challenge is open to all innovators, start ups, organisations, academia and individuals across the world who are developing the technologies of the future to improve lives and able to demonstrate a working prototype for their idea.

“Digitalisation is the next industrial revolution, and the automation of everything will drive the next phase of human possibilities,” said Marc Rouanne, chief innovation and operating officer for Nokia. “The Nokia Open Innovation Challenge 2016 is looking for the next best ideas for connecting people and things. For innovators and start ups, it is a great opportunity to tap Nokia’s global presence and meet venture firms to see how we can work together to build tomorrow’s technologies that will help save lives, improve our environment and make our lives better,” he continued.

Bo Ilsoe, managing partner of Nokia Growth Partners, said: “Aside from the grand prize, the Nokia Open Innovation Challenge is a unique gateway for IoT companies to access new potential partnerships, meet investors, receive advice on their business ideas and meet fellow entrepreneurs. We are pleased to sponsor the competition once again.”

Nokia’s vision is to expand the human possibilities of technology to improve people’s lives, helping them thrive by enabling a programmable world where billions of people, things, sensors and devices are connected.

At Mobile World Congress 2016, Nokia outlined its approach for leading the development of next-generation 5G and IoT technologies which includes a diversified portfolio of applications, platforms, security solutions, connectivity solutions and services across numerous industry verticals. IoT use cases are paving the way for the adoption of future technologies like 5G.

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